Thread: HELP! (Lithium)
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Old Feb 05, 2015, 12:56 AM
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unicornlady unicornlady is offline
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Member Since: Nov 2014
Location: The Forest
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wander View Post
Sounds like you are in a tough spot and I really feel for you. As for going back on Lithium I can say that when I had ECT last year I was taken off Lithium suddenly and put back on the original dose (it was 750mg back then) two weeks later with no tapering. I had no ill effects from this so I guess Lithium is one of those meds you can do it with.
Oh, that's so great to hear~!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wander View Post
Since Lithium has been so useful for you in the past I would suggest you go back on it, even at a much lower dose, while you wait to see your pdoc.
Don't worry, I'm fully intending to restart Lithium at 1200mg/day (my normal/maintenance dose) and am prepared to continue on it indefinitely, since my mania upon stopping is this bad. Looking back on my behavior in middle school/high school/college and comparing it with how I feel now, I was probably manic 50-70% of the time, which is ridiculous! Lithium turns me into a normal person which is amazing. The only reason I took just 300 mg this evening (which is 1/4 my normal dose) is because I was worried that I would be told later I should have tapered it, or I would have found some weird effects or danger from starting suddenly back at 1200 mg (my normal dose).

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wander View Post
I will annoy you by saying I am not a doctor so I am only going on what worked for me. Please ask for the on-call pdoc if you become unsafe though. You are worth it, and the inconvenience of going through everything again is nothing compared to your life. Take care
You're actually not annoying me. And that's a good point about the inconvenience being small in compared to the importance of my life. My self-preservation instinct is just fine right now, I'm just not comparing things well or thinking clearly.

Thanks Wander.

Last edited by unicornlady; Feb 05, 2015 at 01:02 AM. Reason: added "I'm fully intending [....] normal person which is amazing."